proposed a private incremation in the counting-house; but to
this proposal Caroline knew it would have been impolitic to accede--the
result could only be a fresh pair of hose, probably in worse condition.
She adhered, therefore, to the ills she knew.

All the afternoon the two ladies sat and sewed, till the eyes and
fingers, and even the spirits of one of them, were weary. The sky since
dinner had darkened; it had begun to rain again, to pour fast. Secret
fears began to steal on Caroline that Robert would be persuaded by Mr.
Sykes or Mr. Yorke to remain at Whinbury till it cleared, and of that
there appeared no present chance. Five o'clock struck, and time stole
on; still the clouds streamed. A sighing wind whispered in the
roof-trees of the cottage; day seemed already closing; the parlour fire
shed on the clear hearth a glow ruddy as at twilight.

"It will not be fair till the moon rises," pronounced Mademoiselle
Moore, "consequently I feel assured that my brother will not return till
then. Indeed I should be sorry if he did. We will have coffee. It would
be vain to wait for him."

"I am tired. May I leave my work now, cousin?"

"You may, since it grows too dark to see to do it well. Fold it up; put
it carefully in your bag; then step into the kitchen and desire Sarah to
bring in the gouter, or tea, as you call it."

"But it has not yet struck six. He may still come."

"He will not, I tell you. I can calculate his movements. I understand my
brother."

Suspense is irksome, disappointment bitter. All the world has, some
time or other, felt that. Caroline, obedient to orders, passed into the
kitchen. Sarah was making a dress for herself at the table.

"You are to bring in coffee," said the young lady in a spiritless tone;
and then she leaned her arm and head against the kitchen mantelpiece,
and hung listlessly over the fire.

"How low you seem, miss! But it's all because your cousin keeps you so
close to work. It's a shame!"

"Nothing of the kind, Sarah," was the brief reply.

"Oh! but I know it is. You're fit to cry just this minute, for nothing
else but because you've sat still the whole day. It would make a kitten
dull to be mewed up so."

"Sarah, does your master often come home early from market when it is
wet?"

"Never, hardly; but just to-day, for some reason, he has made a
difference."

"What do you mean?"

"He is come. I am certain I saw Murgatroyd lead his horse into the yard
by the back-way